


Impress

by hallelujah99



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F, Ficlet, Fluff, Fluffy, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild hurt with heavy comfort that is, Short, Short & Sweet, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28390416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hallelujah99/pseuds/hallelujah99
Summary: Toni has a long history of doing stupid things to impress pretty girls...but she should have known better than to try something on a deserted island
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 13
Kudos: 354





	Impress

**Author's Note:**

> Written at the request of an Anon called Jane! 
> 
> (Written on and posted on my phone, please let me know if there’s any formatting issues!)

Toni had a long history of acting too cocky to impress a pretty girl.

When she was in seventh grade, Carolyn Pike watched on as Toni attempted to slide down the banister of the school stairwell, only to get stuck and have to jump off awkwardly after a few steps. (She did not get her first kiss like she was hoping for that day).

When she had been dating Regan, her habit of winking at her before attempting 3-pointers was successful as often as it was embarrassing.

So it shouldn’t come as much surprise that when Toni was attempting to show Shelby her (non existent) rock climbing skills one day while they’d gone to the waterfall, things didn’t go quite according to plan. 

Shelby’s scream as Toni lost her footing was blood-curdling, so much so that it almost scared Toni more than the fall.

Before Shelby even knew what she was doing, she swam over to her, grabbed her and pulled her to shore. Toni’s eyes were wide and glazed over in what Shelby feared was evidence of a concussion. 

Shelby carefully sat Toni on the ground and seated herself behind her, wrapping her up in her arms. 

“Toni, Toni, baby, my baby...” Shelby whispered as she held Toni close to her and ran her fingers through her dark hair.   
“Baby what happened, oh Lord what happened.” She asked, as though she hadn’t seen the whole thing. She couldn’t quite piece together what had happened in the stress of everything.

“I...” Toni started coughing, forcefully. Shelby rubbed her back until she finished. “I just scratched up my leg. Hurts like a bitch, but I’m...” Toni took a deep breath, still recovering from the shock. “I’m good.”

Shelby believed her, and with her own two eyes could see that Toni didn’t have a head wound, just a scraped up lower leg, nothing that would have much of a lasting impact. And she could have been fine, except this wasn’t some patient in the hospital, or even one of the other girls on the island. This was Toni, her Toni. She couldn’t let go. 

“Oh my girl. My sweet girl.” Shelby cooed, wrapping her arms tighter around Toni and rocking her gently. That was new, they’d only called each other “baby” a few times before. Toni didn’t mind though. 

She’d be fine to walk off the pain in her leg, ignore it with the stiff upper lip that she’d practiced after many fights and injuries. But hey, if Shelby was here, whispering sweet things in her ear, maybe she could just wait a bit and let herself heal. Admit that something actually did hurt. 

Toni curled into Shelby’s chest and Shelby adjusted her hold on her, looking down at her face. “I scared you?” Toni asked.

Shelby nodded, holding back tears. The split second where she knew Toni was falling but had no idea where she’d land-in the safe, deep water or the jagged rocks-it brought back feelings of the plane crash, of Becca, of the fear that she might not ever really be loved (or if she did it would be only fleeting.)

“I can’t lose you, okay? I just can’t.” Shelby told her. It sounded like there was something else she was trying to say behind those words. But Toni wasn’t sure how to dissect that, so she just brushed the tear off of Shelby’s cheek and told her “You’re not going to.” And somehow, Shelby believed that more deeply that she anticipated. Somehow, her fears were calmed, and all the bad stuff faded into the background and Toni was all she saw, thought about and felt. 

She presses a kiss to Toni’s forehead and held her lips there, not wanting to forget this moment. The massive anxiety followed by a wave of calm, in the midst of the dangerous and confusing place that was starting to feel like the definition of home. (The girl in her arms, she felt like home, too.) 

After a few more minutes of Shelby just holding Toni, she finally asked “Do you wanna go back and see what the medical bag has to offer for your leg? Or at least so we can put clean water on it?” 

Toni pressed her head into Shelby’s chest. “Not yet.” 

“Not yet?” 

Toni closed her eyes and nuzzled Shelby more. She let herself go limp so that Shelby had to tighten her grasp on her. Toni knew what she wanted but was too afraid to ask. She couldn’t completely throw away her strong, cocky image.

Shelby got it, though. Toni just wanted to be taken care of for a little while longer. Shelby was happy to oblige. She held Toni close, stroking her hair, occasionally leaning down to kiss her head. Toni looked up after a few forehead kisses and Shelby captured her lips in a kiss. 

“Hmm?” Toni whispered and smiled. It was a smile Shelby had never seen before, not her trademark smirk or her soft smile, that she’d first seen under the lychee tree. It was both mischievous and soft, like she was asking for something by being cute.

“Hmm?” Shelby responded, raising her eyebrows. 

“Remember before?” Toni asked, holding on to the smile.

“Can you narrow it down a bit?”

“When you were scared about what happened?” 

It took a second, then it hit Shelby. “When I called you my girl?” 

And there in her arms, a sight she never thought she’d see, was Toni Shalifoe, strong, angry, firey, cocky, Toni Shalifoe, GIGGLING. Giggling and nodding while looking up at Shelby with pure and vulnerable trust. 

“My girllll” Shelby cooed again and watched the way Toni’s face lit up even more. 

It felt good to Toni, to be taken care of like that. She liked to be strong and show off, and she still wanted to impress Shelby, but right now, to be the object of care and nurturing felt so natural and comforting in a way she can’t remember ever feeling before, without exception.

It felt good to Shelby as well, to have someone that wanted her love, in its purest form, wanted her, exactly as she was. Not to mention, it felt so good on her lips, “my girl.” She gets a girl, now. Everything she had barely dared to dream about was laying in her arms, looking up at her with the most beautiful brown eyes she’d ever seen. 

Shelby held Toni a while longer, whispering sweet names and sentiments to her, kissing whatever part of Toni’s face she could reach. Toni’s response was mostly delighted soft giggles that showed Shelby just how appreciated her words and kisses were. It also showed her that she had unlocked a rarely seen side of this girl, and it felt all the more special to know that giggle was reserved exclusively for her, in privacy. 

After a while, Shelby’s leg started to fall asleep from Toni’s weight resting on it. “I guess we should go back now.” Toni finally acquiesced as Shelby shifted and bounced her leg.

“Okay, let’s go babe. No more scaring me, okay?” Shelby said as she grabbed Toni’s hand. Toni chuckled. “I wasn’t trying to scare you, I was trying to impress you.” 

“Kiss me.” Shelby said abruptly. 

Toni grabbed Shelby’s waist, pulled her in and kissed her as passionately as ever. 

“See? That impresses me.” Shelby said with a smile as she pulled back. 

Toni smirked “That was smooth.” 

Shelby smirked right back “Just wanted to impress you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Comments really make my day and can even inspire me to write new fics-like this one! :)


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